Venadia

Republic of Venadia Республика Венадия
Flag of Venadia Flag Coat of Arms
Anthem: National Anthem of Venadia
Capital	Venagorod
Largest	Khandagrad
Official languages	Venadian, White Venadian
Recognised regional languages	Around thirty recognized regional languages.
Ethnic groups (2015)	Venadian (74.0%) White Venadian (8.9%) Boldirian (2.9%) Undreshistani (2.5%) Ilverian (1.8%) Jews (1.6%) Others (8.3%)
Demonym(s)	Venadian
Government	Semi-Presidential Republic
• President	Mikhail Kapustov (SP)
• Prime Minister	Lazar Zhvikov (LRP)
• Great Veche Prince	Eleonora Platonova (LRP)
Legislature	Great Veche
Establishment
• Founding of the city of Venagorod/Vanigard	943
• Establishment of the Republic of Venadia	1221
Area
•	13,305,000 km2 (5,137,000 sq mi)
Population
• 2015 census	160,535,541
• Density	12.1/km2 (31.3/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$3,774,672,175,533
• Per capita	$23,513
Gini (2015)	31 medium
HDI (2015)	0.788 high
Currency	Venadian Ruble (VNR)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.vda

The Republic of Venadia is a nation in eastern Ardania with a large population, extensive territories, vast natural resources and a diversified economy. The country contains dozens of ethnic minorities, although the majority of the population are native Venadians or White Venadians. The sole official language is Venadian, although there are around thirty minor languages with some official status in at least one Tysyacha (Тысяча) or Volost (Волость), the most prominent of which is White Venadian. Human habitation in Venadia dates from at least the 12th century BC in the southern territories, albeit much later in the northern.

The first cities and towns in Venadia were founded by Bremenn around the 9th and 10th centuries, most prominent of which was Vanigard (modern-day Venagorod). The Bremenn intermingled to a certain extent with the local populations consisting of slavic tribes, albeit modern DNA testing reveals that Venadians and Breheimians have very little relation to one another. Dozens of petty kingdoms were formed in modern-day Venadia, but the republic itself was founded in 1221, centred around the mercantile city of Venagorod. Venadia eventually subdued the other slavic states, before expanding further to the south and east, only gaining its present-day borders in 1811.

Etymology

The term "Venadia" developed from that of the city of Vanigard, a city founded by travelling nordic settlers. The meaning of the term 'Vanigard' is disputed, as it could potentially have had several distinct meanings. The mainstream opinion among Venadian etymologists is that it either comes from the term 'Vanir', a race of gods to the pagan northmen, or from 'vandi' meaning custom or habits. Another theory is that it comes from an archaic Breheimian term for a river, as Vanigard itself was founded on the river delta of western Venadia. Less mainstream opinions are that the term derives from the word 'vanr' which means 'lacking' or 'to lack', literally making Vanigard 'the city of want', potentially a term for the relatively infertile soil surrounding the area.

With increasing intermingling with nearby slavic tribes who soon became a majority in the Breheimian trading cities established along the Venadian rivers, most of these towns and petty kingdoms morphed their names, including Vanigard which became Venagorod. While Venadia has become a term for the entire country, the territories of old Venadia around the city and its colonies are known as 'Venadia Proper'.

Geography

Venadia is a large nation geographically, and incredibly diverse. The north of the country is covered in permafrost and boreal forests, having a subarctic climate, which becomes increasingly fertile in the central grasslands and river plains. The south-eastern steppes, the traditional home of the Boldirians and the Undreshti, possess great rolling fields and has a relatively warm climate. The south and south-west of the country is hilly and mountainous, the great Mugan Mountain Range stretching from eastern Proylopol Volost to southern Someria, with a total length of 1432 kilometers.

History

Prehistory

Modern Venadia has been inhabitated by humans since at least the 12th century BC, likely migrating from the west or through the Mugan Mountain Range from the south. Reloslav is by some considered the birthplace of Ardanian slavs. The dominant way of life for the slavic peoples of modern Venadia remained nomadic pastorialism and hunter-gathering for millennia. The earliest signs of agriculture stem from southern Venadia in the 1st and 2nd centuries, coincided with the development of settlements.

The territory now referred to as Venadia was referred to as Simir and Orandia by surrounding peoples.

Agriculture and development of Slavic Culture

Venadian civilization and the formation of more organized polities emerged in the 6th and 7th centuries, particularly in the areas of modern central Venadia, such as Kandovy and Belavenadia. These were strongly local in nature, largely emerging as tribes led by local strongmen. Agriculture remained limited to areas by the great rivers of Damara, Merzhava, Magr, Amaga and Dlir in central Venadia and Belavenadia.

The slavic Venadian language developed over the course of the 6th to 8th centuries. The slavic populations in Venadia had no concept of themselves as a united people, although it is estimated that the languages spoken by the slavic peoples were mutually intelligible.

The Bregeld

Traders, settlers and warrior from the nordic archipelago of Breheim started incursions into modern Venadia in the late 9th century, travelling along the rivers so predominant in the Venadian heartland. According to Breheimian sagas, the first Breheimians to explore Venadia was led by Harald the Grey, a famed chieftain and poet around 840. The first permanent Breheimian settlement in Venadia was the city of Kirgard, modern Chirov, in north-west Venadia along the Damara estuary and the city of Vanigard in 943. Nordic raiders and invaders continued into central and southern Venadia. At the height of its influence, the so-called Bregeld stretched from Chirov in the north to Viniya in the south. The Breheimians established numerous market towns along the waterways.

The nascent slavic states in modern Venadia responded to the invasion in different ways. The nordic invaders were content to demand tribute from the existing tribes of Venadia, and the formation of the first true slavic states happened during this period. In southern Venadia, where the Breheimians were halted, Voislav of the Relos were made the first Duke of all Reloslav in 934. The Kandovy paid tribute to the Breheimians at times, and waged war at other times, throughout the 10th century. The first Dukes and Princes were put in place by the Breheimians themselves for the most part, in order to levy tribute from the slavic tribes populating the areas around the rivers.

In the late 10th century, the Breheimians were gradually pushed out of Venadia by the increasingly centralized and extensive slavic duchies and princely republics. With the conquest of Kirgard by Duke Mstislav Aspidov in 964, the nordics lost one of their primary entryways into Venadia and by the 980s none of the slavic states paid them tribute. However, Breheimians influence remained, both in the form of local rulers of norse descent who had integrated into the local population and by way of architecture. Agriculture spread rapidly during the era of the Bregeld, as did centralized states, extensive trade and monetary economics.

Christianization

The first slavic ruler in Venadia to convert to Christianity was Duke Mstislav of Chirov in 971 by Bishop Victor, a missionary travelling from the south to convert the pagan slavs of Venadia. Victor travelled along the same route the Breheimians had done, spreading Christianity to the peoples of Venagorod, Naskoslav and Liskovsk. The first to convert were as a rule the rulers and burgeoning aristocracy with the conversion of the peasantry and commoners usually coming later. Victor was executed by Grand Duke Lodomir of the Kandovy in 993 by way of being torn apart by four horses, instigating the Venadian Wars of Religion.

The wars lasted until 1032 with the end of any organized pagan states in Venadia, although Venadia wasn't considered completely christianized until the 13th to 14th centuries, although pockets of pagan worship are believed to have been continued in the mountains of Salavsk until the 17th century. The christian rulers were greatly assisted by aid from the Pope and foreign crusaders, with the establishment of the Petran Order in 1013 for the explicit purpose of defending the slavic christians against heathen aggression and bring the light of christianity to the pagans.

The wars saw the rise of the Republic of Venagorod as the supreme power in Venadia, then still referred to as Simira. Venagorod at this point directly controlled much of modern north-west Venadia, consisting of the modern tysyacha of Venagorod Tysyacha, Chirov, Naskoslav and parts of Akhodka, Tonovsk and Liskovsk as well as receiving tribute from the Duchy of Reloslav. Other prominent slavic states in this period were the Grand Duchy of Kandovy, the Republic of Viniya, the Duchy of Kamerod and the Duchy or Arzar. The Archbishop of Venagorod held sway of the church throughout Simiria, barring a brief period of contestion by the Bishop of Khandagrad between 1085 to 1093.

Unification and Vesan Crusades

The newly christianized slavic states were a major force during the Vesan Crusades against the heathen peoples living to the west of Simiria, with Venagorod, Kandovy and Kamerod being the largest contributors of men and supplies among the slavs. Especially Kamerod and Venagorod saw great initial successes against the Vesans, with the modern Vesan Republics of Igoria and Chudinia falling under Venagorod's influence, eastern Chudinia being outright considered part of the Republic.

Despite the crusades, peace was however not maintained between the slavic states themselves. Numerous smaller and larger wars were waged over territory and influence, especially between Venagorod and Kandovy. The greatest of these were the Third Venagorod-Kandovy War between 1183 and 1199 which saw the outright annexation of most of the Grand Duchy of Kandovy into the Republic of Venagorod and the payment of tribute by the Grand Duke to Venagorod. Following the death of Grand Duke Gennady in 1216, the remnants of the former Grand Duchy was integrated into Venagorod. By 1221, Venagorod wielded some form of power in all slavic territories, and established the Republic of Venadia and made all territories under their direct authority Tysyacha ruled by a local Prince elected by that tysyachas' aristocracy.

Some slavic states continued to exist outside of Venadia until the late 13th century, but by 1289 all slavic realms were part of the Venadian Republic. Following the Battle of Upeslejas in 1282 Venadia officially withdrew from participation in the Vesan Crusades, although Venadians continued to participate until the Sack of Venagorod in 1425.

Economy

Venadia is a developed, modern, high-income and diversified economy with a strong resource, agricultural and manufacturing base. It operates under a mixed-market system with extensive regulations and state-run enterprises in strategic sectors (such as Venoil and Televen). Venadia has a vast variety of taxes both on the national and regional level, although the primary income of the state remains the progressive income tax, corporate taxes and the VAT. The overall tax burden is at 34.6% of GDP as of 2015.

Venadia is a growth economy, with annual GDP increasing by 3-4% throughout the 21st century. Venadia possesses a relatively large agricultural sector, at roughly 4% of national GDP, and the primary sector as a whole makes up 8% of GDP. Services remain the largest sector however, at 60% of GDP, with manufacturing at 32%. Nominal GDP stood at 3.8 trillion NSD, with per-capita nominal GDP at 23,513 NSD. Unemployment remains an issue, with the unemployment rate as of 2016 being at 12.9%.

The currency is the Venadian Ruble, issued by the Venadian Central Bank who also set the national interest rate.

Exports

Venadia is a net food exporter, particularly within cereals, red meat and seafood. Other major exports include fossil fuels, ships, timber, furniture, metals and military hardware.

Imports

Venadia imports a significant amount of high-technology products, textiles, raw materials and electricity.

Politics

Venadia is a stable Semi-Presidential Republic, with regular elections that are considered by most international observers to be fairly free and fraudless. Venadia is dominated by two political parties, the Liberal-Republican Party and the Socialist Party, although with a significant number of minor parties with national representation and a larger amount in regional and local assemblies. The President is elected every five years, with a maximum of three terms, while the legislature (the Great Veche) holds elections every four years. The Great Veche, founded in 1235, is one of the oldest still functioning parliaments in the world (albeit it has seen significant reform over the centuries).

While a unitary state, several Volosty have a significant amount of local autonomy. These are largely the Volosty with a minority-majority, either religiously or ethnically, of which there are twelve. In total Venadia is divided into thirteen Tysyacha (literally thousand, but commonly translated as state), sixteen Volosty (province) and two Great Cities. The Tysyacha are the traditional heartland of Venadia, while the Volosty are largely in the territories Venadia gained after the end of the Princely era in 1432. There is in theory no substantial difference between Tysyacha and Volosty, although several Volosty have been granted a greater amount of autonomy by the Great Veche. These more autonomous Volosty can amend their laws to a certain extent, and implement regional religions and languages, as well as have greater control of internal taxation and budgeting.

The lowest administrative units in Venadia are the rural Mir and Pogost, and the urban Gorod. These typically are run by a local Veche, elected every four years, with authority over local services. Human rights in Venadia has a mixed history and current application. While the Venadian Constitution guarantees several fundamental rights, such as Freedom of Religion, the Press, Speech and Assembly, Venadia has a history of ethnic chauvinism towards ethnic and religious minorities, as well as espionage and countering certain opposition groupings. In the past years, anti-terror laws have been criticized by human rights activists within Venadia and abroad as having significantly weakened the traditional rights and freedoms of the population.

Administrative Divisions

File:Venadiandistricts.png

Great Cities, Volosty and Tysyacha of Venadia

File:Venadiandensity.png

Population densities of Venadian districts

Name	Type	Population	1000 Km^2	Density	Capital	Largest Ethnic Group	Region
File:Venagorod flag.jpg Venagorod	Great City	8,648,385	22	393		Venadian	Capital Region
File:Khandagrad flag.png Khandagrad	Great City	15.3 million	44	348		Venadian	Kandovy Region
File:Naskoslav tysyacha flag.png Naskoslav	Tysyacha	9.2 million	208	44	Borizan	Venadian	Capital Region
File:Khandagrad tysyacha flag.png Khandagrad Tysyacha	Tysyacha	7.3 million	276	26	Khandagrad	Venadian	Kandovy Region
File:Chirov tysyacha flag.png Chirov Tysyacha	Tysyacha	6.5 million	405	16	Chirov	Venadian	Capital Region
File:Venagorod tysyacha flag.png Venagorod Tysyacha	Tysyacha	5.0 million	233	21	Venagorod	Venadian	Capital Region
File:Tonovsk tysyacha flag.png Tonovsk	Tysyacha	4.3 million	262	16	Khasabodny	Venadian	Tarmanovy Region
File:Liskovsk tysyacha flag.png Liskovsk	Tysyacha	3.9 million	161	24	Gorograd	Venadian	Kandovy Region
File:Arzargut tysyacha flag.png Arzargut	Tysyacha	3.8 million	190	20	Krasnorod	Venadian	Tarmanovy Region
File:Ishichensk tysyacha flag.png Ishichensk	Tysyacha	3.7 million	164	22	Novokuvsk	Venadian	Tarmanovy Region
File:Yelevichi tysyacha flag.png Yelevichi	Tysyacha	3.5 million	159	22	Boriskovsk	Venadian	Tarmanovy Region
File:Svokin tysyacha flag.png Svokin	Tysyacha	2.5 million	222	11	Alekseigrad	Venadian	Tarmanovy Region
File:Reloslav tysyacha flag.png Reloslav	Tysyacha	2.1 million	138	15	Armasnoy	Venadian	Southern Region
File:Kostrovsk tysyacha flag.png Kostrovsk Tysyacha	Tysyacha	1.2 million	1847	0.6	Kostrovsk	Venadian	Northern Region
File:Akhodka tysyacha flag.png Akhodka	Tysyacha	0.9 million	1338	0.7	Domozov	Venadian	Northern Region
File:Viniya flag.png Viniya	Volost	11.7 million	346	33	Viniyagorod	Venadian	Southern Region
File:Ilveria flag.png Ilveria Volost	Volost	8.5 million	844	10	Rugagrad	Venadian	South-East Region
File:Kamerod flag.png Kamerod	Volost	8.4 million	383	22	Kamyrino	Venadian	Belavenadia
File:Liga flag.png Liga Volost	Volost	7.3 million	152	48	Liga	White Venadian	Belavenadia
File:Boldiria flag.png Boldiria	Volost	6.5 million	505	13	Vysitsyn	Boldirian	South-East Region
File:Oskov flag.png Oskov	Volost	5.9 million	169	35	Nikograd	White Venadian	Belavenadia
File:Undreshistan flag.png Undreshistan	Volost	5.1 million	341	15	Al-Undresh	Undreshistani	South-East Region
File:Kirolozhsk flag.png Kirolozhsk	Volost	4.9 million	311	16	Norisnovy	Venadian	Southern Region
File:Someria flag.png Someria	Volost	4.4 million	232	19	Blaustadt	Venadian	South-East Region
File:Proylopol flag.png Proylopol Volost	Volost	4.2 million	247	17	Proylopol	Venadian	Southern Region
File:Drast flag.png Drast	Volost	4.1 million	192	21	Tomolevsk	White Venadian	Belavenadia
File:Aljeti Orkotka flag.png Aljeti-Orkotka	Volost	3.0 million	760	4	Tongelsk	Venadian	Eastern Region
File:Koni volost flag.png Koni Volost	Volost	2.9 million	1932	1.5	Direm	Koni	Northern Region
File:Pervous flag.jpg Pervous	Volost	2.6 million	848	3	Rybiry	Venadian	Eastern Region
File:Jewish volost flag.png Jewish Volost	Volost	1.9 million	286	6	Maxburg	Jewish	Eastern Region
File:Salavsk flag.png Salavsk	Volost	1.3 million	130	10	Salagorod	Venadian	Southern Region

Military

The Armed Forces of Venadia is among the largest in Ardania, both by funding and by available manpower. The military is bolstered by Venadia's system of conscription, upon which the majority of men and women who come of age needs to serve in the military (however, in the past decades the military have become increasingly stringent with their demands, as they receive too many conscripts than they know what to do with). Only about 60% of Venadian youth are actually conscripted as of 2016. In addition to conscripts, the Venadian Armed Forces also include a total of six hundred thousand professional soldiers. As of 2015, military expenditure reached $143 billion (or 3.8% of total nominal GDP).

The Armed Forces are structured into five branches, the army, navy, special forces, air-force and bureau of cyberwarfare. Of these, the Army is the largest single branch both by manpower and by funding, followed by the navy and finally the airforce. Venadia is a nuclear power, and its three thousand nuclear warheads are split between three of the four branches. Venadian Military Doctrine focuses on a mixture of rapid deployment, shock-and-awe and elastic defence, using large ground forces as the main wedge of defense and offense. In recent decades, Venadia has also increasingly focused on counter-insurgency warfare and participating as part of multi-national efforts abroad.

Demographics

Date	Population	Growth	Source
2015	160,535,541	1.7%	Census
2011	157,832,632	1.8%	Census
2005	155,023,397	1.6%	Census
2001	152,568,840	3.9%	Census
1991	146,842,001	3.9%	Census
1981	141,320,501	4.3%	Census
1971	135,494,248	6.8%	Census
1961	126,867,273	9.8%	Census
1951	115,543,964	4.2%	Census
1940	110,857,218	10.5%	Census
1930	100,323,274	9.5%	Census
1922	91,592,590	1.4%	Census
1915	92,921,983	3.8%	Census
1912	89,457,582	13.7%	Census
1902	78,732,100	20.0%	Census
1885	65,610,083	39.3%	Census
1850	47,128,369	38.5%	Census
1820	34,034,969	28.5%	Census
1785	26,495,388	17.7%	Census
1700	22,500,000	25.0%	Estimate
1600	18,000,000	10.0%	Estimate
1500	20,000,000	7.0%	Estimate
1400	21,500,000	13.2%	Estimate
1300	19,000,000	40.8%	Estimate
1230	13,500,000		The Venadian Account

74.0% of the population are ethnic Venadians, while 8.9% identify as the closely related White Venadian ethnic group. Outside of these two ethnicites, Venadia recognized 34 national minorities of variable sizes whose culture is protected under the Venadian Constitution. Venadia is also home to several more recent migrant groups, and all in all, around 50-70 ethnic groups live within Venadia's borders.

Venadia has experienced population growth for most of its history, barring during certain wars (the Great Wars of Ardania in particular), the Ardanian Pestilence and territorial losses in the early modern era. Population density is moderate by international standards, and urbanization is a relatively high 82%. While most ethnicites in Venadia experience some degree of natural growth, that of ethnic Venadians have all but stagnated in the 21st century, while natural population growth among national minorities like the Undreshistani, Boldirians and Ilverians remain high.

Venadian average life expectancy was 76.8 years as of 2014, with the male life expectancy being 75.3 and the female at 78.3. Somer Germans and Jews had higher life expectancies (Somer Germans at 79.2 and Jews at 79.5 respectively) while groups like the Koni and the Ilverians had substantially less (the Koni at 60.1 and the Ilverians at 61.4 respectively). Life expectancy among all groups have increased throughout the 20th and 21st century.

Venadia's immigration rate remains low, as most of its neighbours remain more attractive immigration centers. As of 2015, the foreign-born population of Venadia numbered a mere 3,183,482 (2.0% of the population). Venadia has had net emigration since 2002, and the Venadian diaspora numbers somewhere between 10 and 15 million (not counting the native Venadian/White Venadian minority in the Vesan Union.

Religion

Religion	Population	Percentage (%)
Total	160,535,541	100.0%
Roman Catholic	88,805,063	55.3%
Other Christian	13,225,970	8.2%
Islam	12,545,261	7.8%
Judaism	5,360,147	3.3%
Traditional Indigenous Faiths	3,250,651	2.0%
Slavic Neopaganism	1,521,524	0.9%
Buddhism	1,102,856	0.7%
Other faiths	1,542,641	1.0%
No religion	33,181,428	20.7%

Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in Venadia, and until 1921 was the official religion. Venadia was converted from traditional slavic pagan faiths during the 11th century to Christianity. Venadia as a whole remains fairly religiously heterogenous, and is relatively secular. One in five report to have no religion whatsoever, and in most modern polls 29% of the population report to not believe in a God, Gods or spirits. Along with Catholicism, other Christian churches (primarily protestant ones), Islam (primarily Sunni) and various indigenous faiths make up the bulk of Venadian religion. Slavic Neopaganism has seen a significant amount of growth in the past decades, but by the most recent census only make up 0.9% of the population as a whole.

Religion plays little part in Venadian politics, with both the main parties being fairly secular. However, the majority of seats in the Great Veche are held by Catholics, with other groups (excepting the irreligious) being underrepresented (including other Christians), and all but one President have been a Catholic in Venadia's modern history.

Ethnic Groups

Ethnicity	Population	Percentage (%)
Total	160,535,541	100.0%
Venadian	118,851,221	74.0%
White Venadian	14,250,556	8.9%
Boldirian	4,655,243	2.9%
Undreshistani	4,013,401	2.5%
Ilverian	2,920,311	1.8%
Jews	2,565,292	1.6%
Koni	2,408,692	1.5%
Slavic Vesan	1,820,503	1.1%
Somer German	1,490,530	0.9%
Finno-Ugric Vesan	1,140,586	0.7%
Aljet	1,062,554	0.7%
Other minorities	5,356,652	3.3%

The Republic of Venadia is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state, dominated by the slavic Venadians and White Venadians. Venadia has a total of twenty-seven ethnic groups recognized as 'national minorities' (not including Venadians and White Venadians), as well as a relatively small but growing immigrant community. The Venadian Census has been criticized for potential underreporting of non-Venadian minorities due to the wording ('which nationality do you most identify as'). While the official census report that 82.9% of Venadia are ethnic Venadians or White Venadians, unofficial estimates by human rights organizations puts the number closer to 65-70%, citing underreporting by ethnic minorities.

Even by official estimates, the ethnic Venadian population is shrinking in relative terms compared to most other national minorities (with the exception of the Somer Germans and White Venadians). Most national minorities have significantly higher fertility and birth rates, while ethnic Venadians and especially White Venadians are overrepresented in terms of emigration. Venadia has a great deal of inequality between ethnic groups, with illiteracy and low life expectancies being a problem in many minority-majority Volosty, as well as a great deal of inequality in terms of economic possibilities.

The 1960s saw a great deal of ethnic tension in Venadia, especially in the islamic territories of Boldiria and Undreshti, with the formation of militant groupings and terrorist groups, desiring independence. While the conflict never erupted into full-on civil war, the 1970s and 80s saw a significant amount of bombings and hostage situations, partially quelled by the granting of more autonomy to minority-majority Volosty. Terrorism remains a problem in some parts of Venadia, especially petroleum-rich Undreshti, and ethnic tension remains a problem.

Urbanization

Template:Largest Cities in Venadia Venadia is a moderately urbanized society, especially in the central territories of the country. As of 2015, 98,000 kilometers squared of Venadian territory was classified as urban (0.74% of Venadia's landmass), with a total urban population of 118,560,000 (73.9% of the population) for an average urban population density of 1210. Of these, 31 million live in urban areas with populations exceeding one million. The government has taken active measures to prevent excessive rural flight in recent decades, although the urban population continue to grow relative to the rural population. Venadian cities grew by an average of 4% annually between 2010 and 2015, a moderate to low degree of increased urbanization, partially as a result of government policies to keep rural communities vibrant.

Culture

Venadian culture is marked by the dominance of the slavic Venadian people, the historic role of the Roman Catholic Church, Venadian folklore and influences from neighbors and internal national minorities. While Venadians and White Venadians make up a total of 82.9% of the total population, Venadia has dozens of domestic national minorities with their own unique cultures. Despite historic attempts at Venadification, these minorities maintain their own distinct cultures and religions, while also for the most part having been integrated into Venadia.

The mindset of Venadians have commonly been contrasted with that of the neighboring Vesan Union. The traditional Venadian rural community, or Mir (Мир), is often considered to be the quintisential Venadian society. The traditional Venadian Mir was a village consisting largely of commonly owned land, with freemen gathering in the veche to arbitrate decisions on behalf of the village. The Boyars and the clergy acted as the leadership figures, or the father, of their communities. As such, traditional Venadian culture is considered by some to be collectivist, hierarchial and patriarchal, even if liberalism and egalitarianism has grown to a significant extent in the modern era (and according to some, always existed, particularly in the cities). The 'Mir-mentality' runs deep, especially in rural Venadia, and the average Venadian is expected to follow the mores of their community, but not to as extreme extent as the Breheimian jante law.

Roman Catholic Christianity is the historically dominant religion in Venadia, and even today 55% of the population are members of the RCC. In contrast to many of its neighboring countries, Venadian paganism was all but wiped out during the middle ages, with the idolization of saints and some holidays being the primary holdout of traditional Venadian religion. The Roman Catholic Church has influenced Venadian culture in both positive and negative ways, with a focus on charity coupled with intolerance for impious acts and deeds.

Venadia has produced a great number of writers, sculptors, musicians, composers and artists over the years, and in the modern era has a rapidly growing film and video game industry centred around the city of Domosk.

Cuisine

File:Pilaf.jpg

Boldirian plov/pilaf, which has become a staple throughout Venadia

Traditional Venadian cuisine consists largely of hearty food staples, primarily root fruits, berries, seafood, meat (particularly game and pork) and rye bread. In the past centuries, typical Venadian cuisine has undergone significant changes, such as the introduction of the potato in the 17th century, the growth of wheat and barley as primary crops as well as the introduction of large-scale industrial ranching in the southern steppes. The modern Venadian diet consists largely of meat, root fruits, grains and potatoes (as well as imported foods), with seafood and game playing a relatively small role compared to earlier eras (barring during fast). Spices are used to a much greater extent than in past eras. Bread is the primary food outside of dinner in Venadia, and has only diminished somewhat in the past century. In the past decades, rice have become a popular side-dish but various forms of potato remains more common.

In the modern era, dishes traditional to the national minorities have also spread within Venadia, with Venagorod and Khandagrad in particular being noted for a vibrant and exciting restaurant environment, both for international foods and for lesser known domestic ones. Somer German, Undreshistani, Boldirian, Vesan, Koni, Breheimian and Ilverian traditional dishes have all been blended into the mainstream Venadian cuisine. White Venadian cuisine is not to any significant extent different from that of Venadian cuisine, barring an even smaller focus on seafood.

One of the most easily identifiable Venadian fine foods is freshwater caviar from the Yanov (Яанов) and Somer (Сомер) lakes in the interior. The two great lakes have stable populations of sturgeons from which the caviar is made, and it is a staple food of the Somer Germans of the area. Within fine Venadian dining, caviar has become common over the past centuries, and it is one of Venadia's most identifiable exports.

Venadia produces and consumes a significant amount of alcoholic drinks, particularly beer and grain & potato liquors such as vodka and whiskey. Beer has overtaken liquor in the past decades as the drink of choice for many Venadians, and consumption of wine has also been on the increase, while liquor consumption has decreased in recent decades. The monasteries of Venadia have historically been the finest producers of beer and whiskey in Venadia, and while modern distilleries have long since overtaken their production, monasteries receive state subsidies to maintain traditional production of beer and whiskey.

Public Holidays

Name	Date	Remarks
New Year's Day	1 January
Epiphany	6 January
Ash Wednesday	Varies
International Women's Day	8 March
Parliament Day	28 March	Celebrating the victory of Great Veche in the Venadian Civil War
Easter monday	First monday after easter
International Worker's Day	1 May
St. Ludomir's Day	15 May
National Day	15 June	Celebrates the establishment of the Republic of Venadia, and the unification of Venadian polities in the 13th century
Constitution Day	19 July
Assumption of Mary	15 August
St. Viktor's Day	18 September
All Saints Day	1 November
Christmas Eve	24 December
Christmas Day	25 December
Presidential birthday	Varies